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Bush Predicts Appeals Court Will Lift Ban on Wiretaps

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 — President Bush predicted Friday that an appeals court would ultimately overturn a decision this week declaring his warrantless wiretapping program illegal, and he said that “those who herald this decision simply do not understand the nature of the world in which we live.”

“I strongly disagree with that decision, strongly disagree,” Mr. Bush said of a ruling issued Thursday by Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, a Federal District Court judge in Detroit, in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The decision quickly became a political firecracker, as the Republican National Committee sought to play off the ruling to rally supporters.

In a “Dear Republican” letter, the committee pointed out that the decision was issued by a “Democratic-appointed judge.” It asked, “If you are outraged by this latest development, will you sign the petition against this decision weakening the tools we need to fight the war on terror?”

But Democrats and some legal scholars said they regarded the decision by Judge Taylor, who was appointed by President Jimmy Carter, as an important affirmation of the separation of powers and limits on presidential authority even in a time of war.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the decision affirmed his view that the wiretapping program was illegal. Mr. Leahy described the program as “another unfortunate example of how White House misdirection, arrogance and mismanagement have needlessly complicated our goal of protecting the American people.”

Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, did not comment directly on Judge Taylor’s decision but said Republican efforts to “divert people’s attention” from what he described as the Bush administration’s missteps on foreign policy would not work.

“The bottom line is that most Americans fundamentally believe that you can give the president all the tools he needs to protect us and at the same time uphold the rule of law,” Mr. Schumer said. “There’s only a very few in the administration who don’t hold that view.”

In her ruling, Judge Taylor found that the wiretapping program, which allows the National Security Agency to wiretap the international communications of Americans suspected of ties to terrorism without a court warrant, violated both the First and Fourth Amendments, as well as a 1978 law restricting the use of intelligence wiretaps. Nor did a 2001 measure in Congress authorizing the use of military force in Afghanistan give the president power to conduct wiretaps without a warrant, she ruled in ordering a stop to the program.

“It was never the intent of the framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly when his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights,” she wrote. “The three separate branches of government were developed as a check and balance for one another.”

In a view echoed by other legal experts interviewed Friday, Peter M. Shane, a law professor at Ohio State University who specializes in separation of powers issues, said he agreed with Judge Taylor’s ultimate determination but took issue with elements of her legal analysis, including her reading of constitutional law.

“I agree very strongly that the president’s national security powers are not sufficient in this area to defy Congress’s express determination,” Mr. Shane said. “I just wish she had written it more carefully.”

Bush administration officials said Friday that they were eager to exploit what they saw as flaws and omissions in Judge Taylor’s legal reasoning.

“What was surprising was the weak reasoning of the opinion,” said a senior Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the department is still preparing its appeal. “It lacked any meaningful legal analysis of the substantive issues.”

The Justice Department has already appealed the ruling, and the A.C.L.U. agreed that the judge’s order would not be enforced until a hearing is held next month, meaning that the program can continue in the interim. Meanwhile, Justice Department officials continued parsing the ruling Friday to prepare for an appeal that lawyers say could ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.

President Bush, speaking with reporters on Friday at Camp David, sounded confident that the administration would prevail in the courts.

Administration officials “strongly believe” the program is constitutional, Mr. Bush said. Because he disagreed so strongly with the judge’s opinion, Mr. Bush said, “that’s why I instructed the Justice Department to appeal immediately. And I believe our appeals will be upheld.”

He pointed to the plot announced last week in London to bomb planes bound for the United States as further evidence of the need for strong and aggressive counterterrorism measures.

“The American people expect us to protect them, and therefore, I put this program in place,” Mr. Bush said.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Bush Predicts Appeals Court Will Lift Ban on Wiretaps. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe